Issue nr. 215
Wednesday, August 10th 2022
Issue nr. 215
Wednesday, August 10th 2022
Editorial
This has been a busy week for contributors with submissions from The Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Buses Festival in Northamptonshire, The Gloucestershire Vintage Gathering and a held over report on a show on Merseyside from Andrew Webb.
Add to this the use of single deck buses normally worked by double deckers in the case of Stagecoach, much involved in The Commonwealth Games and the demise of Yellow Buses in Bournemouth and readers will appreciate the scope of this issue. The Games are widely covered in this issue with pictures of the operation and services.
There are some nice pictures from a few readers of Buses in the Landscape plus the latest Arriva Midlands and South allocation list, the issue will take to read.
I must apologise to contributors from the 8th Buses Festival as I found myself overwhelmed with pictures of the same vehicles, so I have had to choose and would like to say how much I appreciated your records. Of note is that I received a "WinZip" file from Andy Churchill of pictures from Buses Festival by noon on the day, which must be a first. Other contributors were Gavin Francis, Jack Cooper and Tony Bungay.
Harpers of Heath Hayes ran this 1959 Guy Arab with Burlingham Seagull coachwork
which recalled memories for me when I drove part time for Harpers in the early
'70s.
Picture by Andy Churchill.
We also have another in depth piece from Grahame Wareham regarding COMS 215, coinciding as it does each week with the issue number of the Weekly Briefing.
Tony Bungay writes "On an unrelated matter I heard Rotala has taken over Midland Classic."
SYWELL Aerodrome August 7th 2022
https://www.keybuses.com/events/buses-festival-2022
The link above will provide access to a record of what vehicles attended and other details. I have included pictures from various contributors under their name and hope readers find much of interest of this 8th such event?
These pictures from Gavin Francis give a wider general view of the event.
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..................................... and now for detailed view of the vehicles present
Andy Churchill
Gavin Francis
Sunday, August 7th was the 8th Buses Festival, this time held at Sywell Aerodrome, another new location for the event. 604 from Oxford Bus had attended the event.
I was surprised to see that
there were no vehicles from Stagecoach or National Express West Midlands at this
year's Buses Festival!
More bus had entered one of their new Bournemouth Unibus branded Enviro 400mmc's 1683 (HJ22 UXW). This is one of 15 new Enviro 400mmc's for the Bournemouth Unibus services.
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1686 had not
seen a days service when it was at Buses Festival, it has since entered service
on the 13 on Monday, August 8th.
Tony Bungay
The warm sunny weather continues, so the Buses Festival
held at Sywell Airfield, was as can be seen from the photos blessed with
brilliant weather. This location also provided good refreshment choices,
included for those who so desired a Bar. In addition nearby was a small but well
presented Aviation Museum.
The event itself had a selection of vehicles old and new,
with perhaps predictably a reasonable number of former United Counties and
Northampton Transport vehicles present.
Of note on this selection is the United Counties Bristol
K sporting the destination for the full 141 service from Aylesbury, which until
the mid 1980’s operated 7 days a week, though most journeys in reality operated
to Bedford, and the section beyond Bedford ceased to be part of the 141 sometime
in the early 1970’s
it is worth commenting that not only is the Arriva Plaxton Pointer Dart is wearing the original Arriva livery, itself historic but the above windows branding is also historic as Arriva no longer serves Guildford!
The other Arriva vehicle obviously undergoing restoration
was a Luton garage based vehicle.
I may use further pictures in the next issue from contributors. Ed.
Here we have more from the event over the past week or so. Pictures are from various locations under the heading of each contributor.
Andrew Webb
Stagecoach have amassed a huge fleet of Enviro MMCs for shuttle services at the Commonwealth Games, including vehicles from the Oxford fleet such as 10785.
10785 is seen on 4 August leaving Alexander Stadium well loaded
with spectators who
have enjoyed a morning of world class athletics.
Bedford have sent several yellow buses, including 10876 which is seen at the
same location
with a park and ride service to Bescot Stadium.
Taking a
'busman's holiday' from park and ride in Cambridge is 10793 which is also Bescot
bound.
The shuttle services illustrated that many vehicles in the Stagecoach fleet carry route branding or special liveries.
10657 from Yorkshire is in the
company's Platinum Jubilee livery, seen on 4 August in a queue of buses
waiting
to whisk spectators from Alexander Stadium to the park and ride site at the
Jaguar Land Rover factory in Kingsbury.
This red variation on the corporate livery is used for route 12 between Brixham
and Newton Abbott.
15311 is seen leaving Alexander Stadium on park and
ride duties.
Birmingham's route 11 was, for many years, notable as Europe's longest urban bus route. It has now been split into the 11A and 11C, the former terminating at Perry Barr, close to the Alexander Stadium.
Stagecoach's branding for
route 11 is for the service linking Ardrossan and Kilmarnock, as carried by
10924.
Also visiting from Scotland was 13055 promoting route 73 in Dundee.
It is
a relatively rare example (for Stagecoach) of an Enviro 400 MMC body on a Volvo
chassis.
Stagecoach Hampshire sent 10889, claiming to be on a direct route to Winchester.
In reality it was leaving the athletics track bound for Birmingham city centre.
Several single deckers also feature, including 26303 from Basingstoke.
From the opposite end of the country, 11285 is usually to be found plying the
streets of Newcastle.
Gary Seamarks
When I left home at 04.45 with tickets for the 06.23 to
Glasgow from MK I did not expect to be taking these, but good old Avanti had
better ideas, and decided to cancel the said train, that had been retimed to run
15 minutes earlier but not advised me of that. So on speaking at MK it was found
the earliest I could arrive in Glasgow was 12.47, against 10.39, so I cancelled
them and headed for Birmingham by Car via Coleshill Parkway. To add insult to
the story the said train was cancelled South of Preston, but actually ran empty
coaching stock from Euston !. Tracking the return train, the 17.30 out of
Glasgow it made MKC 78 minutes late into the bargain. Avanti has provided a
totally shocking service on the Glasgow London services over the past few weeks
that proves 'cheapest tender is not the best' compared with my recent LNER runs
on the East Coast Main Line,
The Alexander Stadium shuttle was using about 6 E400's
during the sessions but on changeovers would estimate up to 100 buses were on
it.
The above pictures show the Stagecoach fleet in operation in Birmingham giving
an idea of the complexity of the operation.
Gary also provided some interesting pictures of the local fleet in operation which I have included here for a parallel view on the day.
Somehow to my old eyes, I like red but Birmingham buses should be a rich blue and cream. The buses were always kept in immaculate condition when I worked in the city from 1970 to 1975. Ed.
Peter Edgar
Last Saturday August 6th I
paid a visit to Birmingham to photograph some of the vehicles that had been
drafted into the city for the Commonwealth Games shuttle services.
During my visit I headed
out towards the Alexander Stadium at Perry Barr and paid a visit to Perry Barr
bus garage as I knew it would be closing later this year, what I didn’t realise
was that the new depot was only a short distance from the existing one in
Wellhead Lane, to my surprise it was being used by Stagecoach as one of their
sites for vehicles on the shuttle services.
As the attached photos show it is still somewhat of a building site, naturally
security was tight at the entrance so these are the best photos I could get,
also attached are photo of the existing garage.
July 31st 2022
Andrew Webb
The north west of England has an active bus preservation scene, with several groups basing themselves in the area. The Mersey Transport Trust has a base at Burscough in Lancashire and aims to preserve the transport heritage of the area. On 31 July the trust held its first post Covid open day, allowing visitors access to the warehouse which is used to restore, maintain and store a fleet which tells the story of bus travel in the area. The size of the collection means that space is at a premium, with buses parked very close together.
London Transport was the main customer for the Leyland Titan, taking over 1000 of the type. Many were sold out of service in the capital, with Oxford and Liverpool being just two cities which operated the type second hand.
T148
is currently under restoration by the trust.
The Titans joined their older Atlantean cousins which Liverpool had taken from new for many years, many with Alexander bodywork.
OLV551M is one example,
having been converted to open top to move tourists around the genteel seaside
resort of Southport.
It is seen here carrying a good load of passengers
from the nearby park and ride site set up for visitors to the event.
An earlier generation of open top bus in Southport is owned by the trust in the
shape of
Weymann bodied Leyland PD2 CWM154C which is seen in the warehouse.
Also working the park and ride service was VKB900, a
former Liverpool Corporation Orion AEC Regent V
and A323GLV another Alexander
bodied Atlantean. Both are seen setting out for the park and ride site.
Large British cities are often associated with being the preserve of double
deckers but many, including Liverpool, operated single deckers where routes
didn't allow or warrant a second deck.
The Duple Vista Bedford OB is well represented in preservation,
including TMM191
from Liverpool Corporation, seen blinded for two iconic Liverpool destinations.
A later generation of Duple bodied municipal coach is represented by EKA220Y,
mounted on a Leyland Tiger chassis.
Another Leyland 'cat', this time the Leopard was bodied by Massey for Birkenhead
Transport
who used this attractive blue and cream livery on the dual door body
fitted to RCM493.
Dual door single deckers were once common place in many cities.
Another
example is FKF933G, a MCW bodied Panther.
Whilst the Dennis Lance and Dennis Dart are generally considered to be the first commercially successful low floor single deckers, there were several attempts with other models. Merseyside PTE was an early pioneer of the current generation of low floor buses with a fleet of Neoplans. Before this they ordered 6 of these Locomotors Quest 80 buses.
The sole survivor is C844OBG
which was delivered to Merseyside PTE but did not enter service in the north
west, passing to Foxtons in Cambridgeshire.
It has now been restored to
original condition, looking and sounding superb.
The once ubiquitous Leyland National also served the travelling public of
Merseyside, with examples of each of the three versions of the model in action
on the park and ride during the day.
Pictured whilst taking a break is VFY4M, an example of the original Leyland
National.
Although preserved in East Kent NBC red, it started life in
Southport.
In an effort to attract more customers a simpler and cheaper 'B' series was
developed,
TRN808V is a preserved example which served with Ribble.
The final development of the model was the National 2, as represented by GCK429W
recalling the long-standing Leyland independent Fishwick.
Being the nearest bus operator to Leyland Motors' Leyland factory meant that the company operated many example of marque over the years.
Whilst the National was
built at the more distant Workington, it built up a fleet of the type,
including XCW955R which has been restored to shows its original role as
demonstrator.
The park and ride site hosted a display of preserved buses which stretched for a quarter of a mile.
Ribble's Duple bodied Dennis Javelin F135SPX shows off
the early Stagecoach corporate image as it heads the display,
whilst it was seen
later that evening at the Beefeater in Lea Green awaiting the return of its
hungry crew.
Ribble's Olympian GFR101W may look like just another of the many which served
the country from the mid 1980s onwards.
It is, however, the first
production example and deserves it place in preservation.
Northern Counties Palatine 1 P234VCK
was one of the newest buses in the display, but is still 25 years old.
An earlier generation of Ribble bus was represented by this pair of Burlingham bodied Leyland's.
KCK869 is a PD3 whilst JCK542 is a PD2.
I drove both these types when working for Ribble in
Preston 1963/4. Ed.
Despite their crucial role, support vehicles are often overlooked by bus enthusiasts who prefer to focus their attention on the buses. Very few modern operators now run their own recovery vehicles, preferring to contract this to specialist providers.
Merseyside PTE ran this ERF recovery truck,
which is preserved by trust.
The standard of restoration on the buses meant that its abilities were not required, but it still came out to enjoy a run in the sunshine.
This is a very nice report and gives some idea of preservation in the north west of our country. Ed.
Visited the above show near Cirencester on August 5th and
thought you might like a few pictures. Quite a nice little turn out of buses amongst
all the other stuff. Thought the 66 service particularly relevant.
A Leyland Olympian/Roe new to Winterstoke Road depot,
9552, A952SAE, entered service with Bristol Omnibus Company in 1984 for Bristol
City Services
and believed to be the last Bristol bus to be withdrawn by First Bristol in
September 2007.
Memories of the 66.
A very nice selection for visitors.
Delivered to Bullocks of Cheadle in April 1948, I can
remember travelling on this coach during 1948 with my cousin and his mother
who lived in Cheadle. I think we went to Blackpool but memories do fade. The
driver said the steering was very heavy !! Ed.
Time was when I was a lad that these were almost new
! Ed.
Nice to see Worth's represented at the event.
The Bristol RE was well represented.
Jonathan Radley
Taken on August 7th show John's OAX9F with a
background of RAF hangars. Ed.
Julian Walker
On July 29th, Yellow Buses
went into administration.
The coaching operations have been sold to National Express and will continue unchanged for now.
National Express is taking on the engineering functions of Yellow Buses as well
as the coaching operation, and is saving around 50 jobs in all.
Yellow Buses actually ceased running during the early evening of 4th August,
with last buses departing around 6pm.
No buyer has been found for
the local bus operations. A reduced service (mostly Saturday timetables)
operated on Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th August, with services ceasing after
Thursday evening.
No Yellow Buses routes will
operate on Friday 5th August.
Go-Ahead South Coast company
More Bus is mounting a rescue operation. From Saturday 6th August More Bus will
operate over much of the core Yellow Buses route network, concentrating on those
where More Bus does not already provide an adequate service. Yellow Buses
drivers are being invited to apply for jobs with More Bus; recruitment sessions
will be held at a local hotel on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th August with an
enhanced bonus for drivers who are able to start work with More Bus immediately.
More Bus is drafting in its own vehicles to operate the increased service
requirement, including 15 new ADL Enviro400 MMCs which have been delivered for
Bournemouth University services (although these will not necessarily operate on
the "new" routes).
The routes that More Bus will
operate from Saturday 6th August are:
1/1A Bournemouth - Christchurch, up to every 15 minutes
More Bus M1/M2 operate between Bournemouth and Poole up
to every 7 minutes
1B Bournemouth - Somerford, up to every 15 minutes
More Bus X1/X2 provide an
alternative service for Highcliffe and New Milton
2 Bournemouth - Castlepoint via Boscombe, up to every 30
minutes
4 Bournemouth - Castlepoint via Winton, up to every 30
minutes
routes 2 & 4 interwork at
Castlepoint as circular services, and through journeys can be made across
Castlepoint
5/5A Bournemouth - Kinson, up
to every 15 minutes
6/6A Bournemouth - Bearwood,
up to every 30 minutes continuing hourly to Wimborne (6) or Kinson (6A)
737 Bournemouth - Airport,
limited peak time service
To help passengers, any unexpired Yellow Buses period
tickets will be accepted on any More Bus service in Zone A until Sunday 13th
August. Sale of Yellow Buses period tickets had ceased on 29th July when the
company went into administration.
A book not to be missed
(click on the picture to enlarge.)
https://www.amberley-books.com/oxford-and-south-midland-buses.html
Previously unpublished photographs documenting the Oxford and South Midland bus
scene.
Photographs included here were captured between 1986 and 2010 and feature
numerous vehicle types, liveries and operators.
This book is a must for enthusiasts regarding the area covered. All operators are covered showing the development of companies and services of the period covered from 1986 to 2010. The book is a pictorial record with most informative captions. It can be purchased from the publisher, Amberley Books, at a discounted price.
I spent yesterday driving an ex-Portsmouth Corporation Leyland Atlantean around Gosport as part of the Stokes Bay rally.
Great bus to drive and hard to believe
50 years old later this year!
Driven properly the Atlantean was indeed an excellent vehicle but you had to wait for the gears to engage or they slipped. Ed.
Nigel Peach
We returned from holiday three weeks ago. apologies that
it has taken me so long to get round to sending you a few pics - use if and when
you want to.
LAKEsider route 599 (operated by Stagecoach) gives a
pleasant ride. 13804 (BV17CTO) is seen at the Grasmere terminus.
West Coast Motors run many routes around Oban. Seen in
Connel, with Loch Etive in the background is MMC 12203 (SK22BTX).
Lothian Buses Volvo 692 (SJ71HLK) is approaching the
Silverknowes terminus of route 29.
It is on a section of road recently converted
to buses only (and is served only by route 29).
The Firth of the Forth can be
seen and Fife is on the other side of the water.
In Edinburgh there are a number of tourist buses run by different operators.
Due to recent road closures, they now congregate in George
Street and four different examples are seen here.
I appreciated these pictures which are most interesting. Ed.
Coach visitors to Oxfordshire
This is a good flickr site for coaches in Oxford. Ed.
https://www.flickriver.com/photos/69870962@N02/
Fleet News and developments
I am pleased to publish the latest allocation list for this area courtesy Arriva.
Arriva fleet lists/1 - Arriva South Fleet List P7 2022.xlsx
Malcolm Crowe
Why is the sun always where one does not want it ?
Citaros 3032 and 3021 at Cressex depot on August 6th.
6000 is now noted as VOR and not in service.
StreetLites 2325 and above 2326 have been repainted in the new
Arriva blue livery as shown with 2318 in the original livery.
Does this mean that Arriva are no longer promoting green credentials?
Gavin Francis
Berry's of Taunton are now contracted to Flixbus as
shown by their BR21DCV on Elizabeth Bridge, London - March 8th.
Once with Airport Bus of Hallingbury working a
Stansted service this Caetano is seen working for Flixbus 040 service on August
9th.
McGill's do operate coaches in Flixbus livery but
above Tourismo BU67XXL is seen with an 030 Glasgow service in London on August
4th.
A rear view of BL17XBB from Whippet showing off a
Jubilee wrap on August 8th in London.
A nice article in both the Guardian and Telegraph reports on the new Oxford Bus 46. See at the link below sent by Chris Huntingford.
Jack Cooper
In less local news Yellow Buses in Bournemouth had ceased trading on Thursday, August 4th with their last services operating by 18:00. More Bus has stepped in to operate additional routes, to replace Yellows services. These services were put into place within 48 hours notice, which is rather impressive! Spare resources were brought in from other Go South Coast companies to cover the additional services. More bus service details -
https://www.morebus.co.uk/we-will-be-running-extra-routes
Yellow Buses 4062 is seen in Bournemouth on August 12th 2021 in this picture
from Jack Cooper.
Hants & Dorset Trim
Carousel's 407 now in red on August 5th for return to service at High Wycombe.
874 now in blue and green on August 5th for return to service at Didcot.
Malcolm Crowe
Carousel's Wycombe depot during a Saturday is often
home to most of the Mercedes Sprinters
as seen above on August 6th.
Deckers predominate in the overflow yard used in the
week for schools etc.
Variety is the spice of life with three different
types in this picture plus the RML which is for sale.
Nigel Peach
Great excitement in Flackwell Heath on August 2nd as the main
through road "Straight Bit" was closed because of road works. The Great
Excitement was that the diversion took traffic, including Carousel's route 36,
past our house!
Scania 217 is seen in Sedgmoor Road on 2nd August.
(This of course is four weeks early to feature in issue 217!!)
603 is seen working 6 road on August 9th.
On Tuesday, August 2nd 842 and 846 were loaned to Thames Travel. 842 being used on the 136, and 846 being used on the ST1 and X1.
St Aldates with 903 ready to leave for Abingdon on August 4th.
691 seen in St Aldates working 9 road on August 1st.
Demonstrator Citaro-e 899 is seen at the depot on
August 7th and in St Aldates with an 11X - August 1st.
901, 902 and 903 at Cowley House on August 7th.
StreetDeck 902 is sin St Aldates on August 1st with
an X3 service.
971 shows off its Blenheim Palace branding whilst
working an 11X on August 1st.
A lucky catch with only Oxford Bus visible in St
Aldates with 903, 661 and 684 facing south on August 4th.
Jack Cooper
Tourismo 39 seen in St
Aldates with Ashmolean branding on August 1st.
On its 2nd day back in service after its accident back in March - taken mid
morning in Ock Street, Abingdon - Thursday, August 4th -always thought this is a
really striking livery.
https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/timeline
Gavin Francis
acklams BV69LOH seen in Elizabeth Street having
arrived from the north with a National Express 561 service on August 8th.
Horseman's YX68UAY was in use for the A6 from VCS on
August 9th.
Kings Ferry were in use for a C27 service on August
4th.
I think this is with Edwards, a very new BV22VST
leaves with a 403 to Bath on August 4th.
https://www.omcglobal.co.uk/fleet/
Jack Cooper
A nice midi coach run by this company seen in Oxford
on August 4th.
Red Eagle Enviro 200 GX57DXH rests at Dunstable ASDA after working across the
hills from Aylesbury on July 20th 2022.
Jack Cooper
Now not required for the 853 several of these E300s
have transferred to Swindon.
28688 is seen working the S6 in Gloucester Green on August 1st.
Gavin Francis
MMC 11233 has gained a super rear for Bartholomew
School and is often used to work the 853.
Seen in Gloucester Green on August 9th.
Jack Cooper
MMC 10439 is seen in St Aldates working service 1 on
August 1st.
E200 36401 is seen in St Aldates on August 5th.
E200 36927 is seen working the 10 in St Aldates on
August 1st.
Another E200 working the 10 is 37025 in St Aldates on
August 4th.
Now that the Commonwealth Games are over we should normally see double decks working route 10. Ed.
Gavin Francis
The green Wrights have returned to X5 as seen with
21226 leaving for Bedford.
Leaving in Gloucester Green on August 4th.
21231 was working the X5 on August 8th from
Gloucester Green
Now that the Commonwealth Games are over we should normally see double decks working route 10. Ed.
Gavin Francis
Interdeck 54276 is seen in Elizabeth Street on August
4th.
Linburg L23URG with an M45 working is seen in
Elizabeth Street on August 4th.
Watts VDL WJ17EZK is seen at Elizabeth Bridge on
August 4th.
London operations
Gavin Francis
Pulhams UK19PUL seen in VCS with a Wilderness service on August 4th.
COMS 215 JDB247F arrived rather later than the rest of the batch in September 1972 as it was under repair at Stockport. However it was quickly used on arrival as a Saturday relief bus on the 111 Southsea service.
Then called in for repaint into the COMS standard bus livery. Like the others it eventually migrated out to Country depots.
....... and in 1975 sent to Midland Red's Central works for COF overhaul and repaint into NBC corporate poppy red livery. It also received the updated lower front panel incorporating two fog lights together with additional opening side windows swapped from the 397-416 batch.
In
October 1979 it was withdrawn and sold to Ensign Bus along with sister vehicle
213, then both being exported to World Square, Kona, Hawaii for courtesy bus
duties.
July 1982.
July 1992
Like its North Western predecessor 215, BBW215Y arrived
three months later than the rest of the BBW batch owing to a mix up at ECW
whereby the body was initially built upon the wrong chassis, in this case 215's
chassis receiving initially a partly built body from a Strathclyde order. To
make amends, as ECW had already received chassis for the next batch 219-224, 219
from the next batch was bodied and sent as a replacement until the problem was
sorted in time for the next contractual delivery in December. Strathclyde's
Olympians featured TL11 engines and Voith gearboxes so totally unsuitable for
Oxford's specification!
June 1999.
215 was later refurbished as a Park & Ride bus receiving
a retrim and larger luggage rack initially but this was removed sometime prior
to withdrawal. After sale in August 1999 215 was reregistered by Straffords
Coaches of Coedpath, Wrexham to ACZ7669 and in June 2003 was reunited with its
old registration mark with sale to Price, New Broughton, Wirral.
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At Minera on October 6th 2001.
Interestingly Strafford's also purchased 219 as well !!
Here is a photo of Leyland Olympian 215 (BBW215Y) new to COMS in 10/1982
seen here in the mid 1990s in Cornmarket Street on
Park&Ride route 300 to Redbridge.
Gavin Francis
In pristine condition 215 is seen working 5 road on April 30th 2011.
By September 7th 2013 the bus had acquired more branding when working the 2C.
Then on November 11th 2017 the bus had moved to Carousel here working the 36 to
Bourne End Station.
Nigel Peach
For issue 214, I discovered that I do have a picture of
the current 214, currently with Oxford, but has also spent time with Thames
Travel and Carousel.
Picture taken on August 3rd 2017 (five years
ago!!), recently transferred from Oxford
and one of the first to be repainted in
Carousel livery, at the top of Corporation Street High Wycombe.
This bus has now returned to High Wycombe have spent a long time back at Oxford. Ed.
Circle Line no 1933 (YSX 933W) Former Alexander Fife
Leyland National 2
Circle Line no 1680 (G680 AAD)
Circle Line no 1621 (NUW 621Y)
officially route 120A although this
doesn’t seem to have been displayed on the vehicles often if at all.
Circle Line no 1845 (A845SUL)
Leyland Titan London Transport T845 Cheltenham Racecourse Park + Ride service,
officially route 120A although this doesn’t seem to have been displayed on the vehicles
often if at all. Cheltenham (Promenade) 14th July 1999
Circle Line no 1602 (HDZ2602) MB 811D / Wright Former Selkent MW2 Service K Cheltenham (Pittville Street) 11th August 1999.
Andrew Moore
I am a regular reader of your
weekly news bulletins and it is great to be kept up to date with all the latest
news and photos etc. Long may that continue.
I would like to raise an issue concerning INTERLINK
EXPLORER tickets. I think they are great idea and offer really good value for
money, especially as they cover a wide area.
Having purchased several of these one day tickets over
the last few months, I have encountered the same issue on each occasion.
I usually commence my journey at Oxford/Carfax either on
Arriva 280 or Redline X20, usually travelling towards Thame or Aylesbury.
If I purchase an INTERLINK EXPLORER on say an ARRIVA
service and subsequently try to use that ticket on another operator, e.g. Red
Rose, Carousel etc. the ticket reader flags the ticket as INVALID.
Some of the drivers are aware
of this and allow me to travel. However there appears to be some drivers are not
aware of what these tickets actually are and some have even said they have never
issued such a ticket. In all cases I have been able to convince the driver that
the ticket is valid and eventually I have been allowed to travel, although this
has meant the service being held up for a couple of minutes. In all cases the
drivers have been polite and one even had the initiative to phone the control
centre to check the ticket's validity. I am assuming this issue is down to
training and/or awareness.
I am not sure if there is an
easy answer to this, but wondered if any of your other readers have encountered
a similar experience or if there are any drivers out there that have come across
this before.
Thank you and please keep up the good work on the news
page.
